2017 Berea College Research Symposium

The 17th annual Berea Undergraduate Research Symposium (BURS), held this fall the same weekend as the Berea College
Trustees (of which Rocky Tuan is a member) visit campus. This has been organized by the science programs in the past but
participation is open to all members of the college community. In recent years we have structured the
symposium with both talks and poster presentations as well as a plenary session.
The program for Fall 2017 will be held on Friday, October 20th. The 2017 BURS will start in the afternoon
with student oral presentations, continue with student poster presentations, and end with a plenary talk by
Dr. Rocky Tuan, Berea College Alumnus and Professor at the University of Pittsburgh.

Abstract -
Skeletal disorders, including osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, present a significant disease burden for the general population, and are specifically associated with space flight, such as accelerated bone loss. We have recently developed a 3D microphysiological system (MPS), utilizing adult stem cells, biomimetic materials, and 3D printing technologies, that mimics osteochondral tissues. The microfluidically perfused MPS bioreactor can accommodate both stem cell-engineered tissues and primary osteochondral tissues, and is amenable to high-throughput screening and testing of potential therapeutics for bone and cartilage health. The MPS is particularly suitable as an on-board experimental model to study the accelerated skeletal pathologies observed during space flight, as well as a high utility system applicable for predictive toxicology and drug development for skeletal tissues, both on the ground and in space.
We will start at 2:30 PM with two simultaneous oral presentation sessions (15 minutes each) in rooms 101 and
106 of the Science Building. The sessions are grouped by theme as much as possible. The poster
session starts at 3:00 and is held in the lobby of the science building with posters from various
fields (previous posters from chemistry, biology, physics, psychology, sociology, education,
African American Studies, economics, industrial arts, computer science, physical education &
health, and mathematics). All students who pursued substantial research projects over the previous
year are encouraged to present their research.
We have been hosting the BURS since 2001 and have records of participants going back to 2007 online (see links to the left).
Students and faculty interested in attending or participating in the 2018 BURS should either contact Jay Baltisberger or Anes Kovacevic of the chemistry program. Alternatively a student may elect to register online via the link on the Chemistry department web server.

In pyrophosphate, the J-coupling distribution is strongly correlated with P–O–P bond-angle distribution. By using solid state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) J-coupling patterns can be viewed and help determine structural information. The hypothesis that was proposed was that the mixed glasses would have two regions of J-coupling patterns. Rich regions of Pb2+ and another region with both Na+ and Pb2+ patterns. The pyrophosphate samples were synthesized by mixing solid compounds of varying Pb2+ and Na+ ions. The mixed solids was then placed in a muffle furnace and heated to 1100°C. The molten glass was poured onto a copper plate and quenched. The samples were ground to a fine powder and packed into rotors. The samples were analyzed using solid state NMR experiments. PASS (Phase Adjusted Spinning Sidebands) and TE-PIETA (Total-Echo Phase Incremented Echo Train Acquisition). The raw data was then placed into a specialized program to view J-coupling of the PASS and PIETA. Many of the mixed samples displayed as two types of J-coupling. When compared to a pure lead sample the J-coupling was close to 23 Hz; however, the mixed samples seemed to lower the J-coupling to about 14 Hz. We also looked at the chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) of the samples and appears that there is not much variability within them.

Registration for the 103rd Kentucky Academy of Sciences Meeting should follow this link
KAS Registration